The Canadian Dollar is the country’s official currency and can be spent anywhere. The Canadian Dollar is made up of 100 units called cents.
The coin started being used in Canada at the end of the 19th century. It took the place of the Canadian Pound. Before the Canadian Dollar came, Canada used many different kinds of money.
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The year 17th (1600-1699)
In the 17th century, the first people to live in Canada used beaver skins as money. Moose skins and wheat were also accepted as money, along with beaver furs and other things.
By the middle of the 17th century, shell bead strings and beaded belts, called wampum, were being used as money in the New England colony. There were also different amounts of wampum.
Eight white beads were worth the same as four purple beads, which were worth one penny. Wampum was very valuable because it took a lot of work to make the beaded items (a 5000-bead belt took up to 119 days to complete).
The first card money was made on June 8, 1685, and another batch was made just three months later. Playing cards were used to print the Card money. But people didn’t like this kind of money because it was easy to fake and cheat.
The year 1800 (1700-1799)
In 1722, the first copper coins were made, which meant that people could start to use money. But merchants didn’t like these coins.
Instead, they encouraged their customers to use traditional currency forms and let them buy things based on their credit standing. After formally requesting the King of France, the colonial government was permitted to bring back card money at the beginning of 1729.
The 1800s and 1900s (1800-1899)
In 1817, the Montreal Bank was set up. Soon after, the first banknotes in Canada were printed and circulated. People liked the bank notes, which were used as the primary way to pay for things in Canada.
After seeing how well the bank notes from the Montreal Bank were accepted, the other central banks in Canada also made bank notes. Canada’s official currency since 1841 has been the Canadian Pound.
But the money was based on fractions, so the colonies decided they needed a decimal currency. Most chose to establish their new decimal currency on the US Dollar.
The Canadian Dollar was first used in the colonies of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Canada. In 1867, these colonies joined together to form a federation called the Dominion of Canada.
In 1854, the Dominion of Canada set a gold standard. In April 1871, when the Canadian Parliament passed the Uniform Currency Act, the Canadian Dollar became the official currency of Canada.
The last 100 years (1900-1999)
At the beginning of the 20th century, Canada and the rest of the world were involved in the First and Second World Wars, which hurt the economy. Canada stopped using the gold standard temporarily during the First World War in 1914 and stopped using it for good in 1933.
The twenty-first century (2000-Present)
In 2002, the Canadian Dollar was worth US$ 0.6198; in November 2011, the first polymer banknotes were released.